Netanyahu says Hezbollah tried to kill him – DW – 20/10/2024

German police have arrested a man suspected of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin.

Commandos raided the suspect’s flat in Bernau, near Berlin, on Saturday following a tip from an unspecified foreign intelligence agency, it said. Bild diary

The AFP news agency reported that the man was also thought to have connections to the so-called “Islamic State” extremist group.

Police also raided a flat in the western German city of Sankt Augustin in connection with the case. Bild informed

Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor thanked German authorities for “ensuring the security of our embassy” in a post on X.

The US is investigating a leak of highly classified documents with information about Israel’s preparations for a possible attack on Iran.

US news outlets Axios and CNN first reported the news about the classified documents appearing on Telegram.

The documents are attributed to the US Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency and highlight that Israel has been repositioning military assets after Iran’s missile attack on 1 October

The top-secret documents could only be shared among Five Eyes’ so-called intelligence partners: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

The Pentagon acknowledged the leak in a statement but declined further comment. US officials are investigating how the documents were obtained.

There is no confirmation of the authenticity of the documents. If they prove to be true, it would mean a major intelligence gap.

The leak comes as US officials said they would redouble their efforts with mediators to push for a Gaza ceasefire deal.

Israel’s leadership has repeatedly stressed that it will not let Iran’s missile attack go unanswered.

At least 73 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes that hit several houses in a town in the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas media said.

Medics said the airstrikes targeted a multi-story building in the town of Beit Lahiya and damaged several nearby houses.

The media office of the Hamas-run Gaza government also said several people were wounded and missing.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli strikes hit the upper floors of the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahiya and forces opened fire on it, causing panic.

The Israeli military said it was operating near the hospital and “there was no intentional fire directed at it.”

Another Israeli official said the number of casualties was likely exaggerated and did not match information gathered by the Israeli military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of trying to assassinate him.

Netanyahu’s office said a drone was launched at his residence in the central city of Caesarea, but he and his wife were not home at the time and there were no injuries.

“The attempt by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a serious mistake,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“Anyone who tries to harm the citizens of Israel will pay a very high price,” he said in comments aimed at Tehran and “its proxies,” which include Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The militant group did not acknowledge the attack, but on Saturday afternoon Iran’s United Nations mission said “this action was taken” by Hezbollah.

Initially a spillover from the Gaza conflict, months of commercial fire across the joint border between Israel and Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based, turned into full-scale conflict in late September.

mm/rm (Reuters, AP, AFP)